Bernardo Duarte secures funding to study the use of marine bacteria in the restoration of salt marsh ecosystems

MARE researcher Bernardo Duarte has secured funding totalling 502,080 euros with the aim of developing Nature Base Solutions to improve the efficiency of the process of restoring salt marsh ecosystems. The funding was secured through the MAR2030 Operational Programme, and the research will involve members of MARE, BioISI and CE3C, as well as two laboratories associated with these research centres: ARNET and CHANGES.

Salt marsh ecosystems serve as habitats for various species, are important carbon sequesters and are some of the most productive on our planet. Currently, due to human activities, these ecosystems have been progressively degraded. The funding secured by the MARE researcher, which will be used as part of the mRESTART project, is therefore extremely important. The main aim of this project is to locate and study marine microorganisms that can be used as biostimulants, creating the ideal conditions for greater resistance and survival of vegetation adapted to living in or near the sea, during transplantation in the process of restoring salt marsh ecosystems.

‘This funding will make it possible to carry out large-scale bioprospecting of plant growth-promoting microorganisms that show potential for improving the efficiency of restoration processes in salt marsh areas and thus develop an innovative restoration methodology leveraged by these biostimulants,’ Bernardo Duarte told CIÊNCIAS.

In addition, the project also aims to create a biobank of this type of organism, which can be used by the community to design solutions adapted to other ecological restoration projects. Subsequently, the team of researchers intends to promote actions to raise awareness of the importance of salt marshes for the marine ecosystem and for human populations, in order to achieve more sustainable management of these ecosystems.